In addition to the addendum presented below, please be sure to visit this illustrated REA blog post

In addition to the addendum presented below, please be sure to visit this illustrated REA blog post entitled 1938 REA Lou Gehrig Jersey: Perfect Photo Match? We think so. YOU decide! at the following link:
The following additional information (in some cases duplicative from the printed catalog version, as it is a heavily edited/notated version of the printed weekend cruises catalog version) is provided to make absolutely sure that any errors or claims in the REA lot description (or pre-publication preview) are properly and unfailingly addressed, so that anyone potentially interested in bidding on the 1938 Lou Gehrig jersey is armed with accurate information that is properly attributed, and that any claims made or theories presented weekend cruises by REA alone are clearly noted, properly weekend cruises qualified, and distinguished from any claims by the MEARS authentication process.   We want no confusion as to what is being offered or claimed, so we are going out of our way to provide all possible relevant information regarding the jersey, its known history, and grading history. This jersey was purchased by our consignor at Mastro Auctions in August 2008 (Lot 62). At the time, it was graded A9, and was the highest-graded of all Lou Gehrig jersey in the MEARS census. It sold for $240,000. After being consigned to this auction, the jersey was regraded A5 by Dave Grob/MEARS. REA has no problem with this whatsoever, and no emotional investment or personal monetary exposure in how this (or any other) jersey is graded (aside from the commissions earned on its sale, of course).   The same cannot be said about the owner, who was upset and desired only to become whole.   It was then graded weekend cruises A7 by Troy Kinunen, with A7 being the average grade of A9 and A5. It is now graded A7.
Troy R. Kinunen agrees to purchase the 1938 Lou Gehrig jersey for the purchase price of $240,000 from [CONSIGNOR'S NAME REDACTED] on behalf of a third party. The amount of $240,000 will be paid with proceeds from the third parties [sic] consignments to be sold in the May, 2011 REA (Robert Edward Auctions).
Regardless of the value of the consignment amount, any shortfall in the consignments shall be paid by the third party to [CONSIGNOR'S NAME REDACTED] weekend cruises in full in the amount up to $240,000 weekend cruises within 30 day [sic] after the completion of the REA sale.
We cannot state with certainty exactly what this contract intends. It has nothing to do with REA; its qualified meaning is not entirely clear to us (although we do understand the clearly expressed desire of the consignor to be guaranteed to be made whole based upon his interpretation of the MEARS Buyer Protection Program, he did not draft the document); REA had no role in its drafting, and we are not a party to the agreement. (Note: REA was asked to accept consignments late as a courtesy to MEARS. We did so, so we assume that our cooperation in accepting these consignments was helpful in some way.) A scan of the signed document was sent to us by the consignor on March 23, 2011. Though the interpretation of the terms of this agreement are not clear to REA, REA policy (and we believe MEARS' policy as well) is to clearly identify items that are presented for auction in which the authenticator has an ownership interest in part or whole. In this case, the ownership, or the risk of loss, may have been transferred to a third party. It is unclear to REA. In addition, it is a given that no party believed by REA to have a financial interest, weekend cruises whether weekend cruises direct or derivative, will be permitted to bid on the 1938 Lou Gehrig jersey. Please note that it is REA's opinion that this jersey is worth every penny of $240,000 (or more), though as with any extremely valuable collectible item, there is no one precise value and it may sell for more or less than its previous sale price.
Monumentally significant New York Yankees game-used road jersey presumably worn by Hall of Fame first baseman and Yankees team captain weekend cruises Lou Gehrig in 1938, his last full season in baseball. weekend cruises We say presumably because we don't know this with certainty. We DO NOT have a photo-match as the term is used in the science of photo-imaging. We have a style match and what REA calls "a possible photo match" in that the alignment of the lettering on the front of the jersey "NEW YORK" is consistent with the jersey Gehrig is wearing in a 1938 Yankees team photo (with the term "possible weekend cruises photo match" being a non-scientific term created by REA to mean simply "we personally think there is a really, really high likelihood it's the same jersey; we think it's a match; and we base this only on looking at the jersey and comparing it with the jersey in the photograph, but acknowledge we could be totally wrong, and they could be two completely different jerseys). The term "a possible photo match" is not to be confused weekend cruises with the definitive weekend cruises scientific term "photo match" weekend cruises which we do not have.   It is rare to have 100% absolutely weekend cruises certain photo-matches of vintage jerseys that do not have a great deal of detail to the design (and Yankees road jerseys have far fewer points of detail to allow for easy comparison with photos than many other jersey styles) but we like what we have. We have provided images so that bidders can see for themselves and draw their own conclusions.
Few baseball jerseys are as worthy of display as national treasures at Yankee Stadium, The National Baseball Hall of Fame, or the Smithsonian, as is this 1938 Lou Gehrig New York Yankees game-used road jersey. While the word "rare" might be the most overused and liberally interpreted term in the hobby, it might actually be an understatement in regard to a Lou Gehrig game-used jersey. To the best of our knowledge, as few as five authentic Lou Gehrig jerseys are in existence. Only four, including the offered example, are currently listed in the MEARS census. We know of just two others, one of which resides in the permanent collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The offered example is particularly remarkable and noteworthy for many reasons, including its year of issue and the fact that both the front and reverse weekend cruises lettering are completely original. In addition, REA believes it is possible that based upon the placement, alignment and shape of the individual letters on the front and the shape of the number 4 on the reverse (all of which are unique to every jersey - we are, however, limited by the quality of available photos to conclusively declare a true technical photo match) weekend cruises that we may not only have a photo match of Gehrig wearing weekend cruises this jersey in a 1938 team picture (as discussed above), weekend cruises but we may also have "a possible photo match" of Gehrig at bat wearing this very jersey in the 1938 World Series, his final World Series. The statement above that "the shape of the number 4 on the reverse weekend cruises (all of which are unique to every jersey - we are, however, limited by the quality of available photos to conclusively declare a true technical photo match)" is REA's statement, and REA's statement weekend cruises alone. It is NOT a statement made by MEARS. It is a statement that REA sincerely believes to be true. We could be wrong. But we think it's true. And once again: The term "a possible photo match" is not to be confused with the definitive scientific term "photo match" which we DO NOT HAVE.   The quality of this batting photo is not good enough to make a definitive photo match. We have a "style match" and what REA calls "a possible photo match" in that the font style and placement of the number "4" on the back of the Gehrig jersey is consistent with the jersey that Gehrig is wearing in the 1938 World Series photo at bat. This DOES NOT mean that this is the jersey Gehrig is wearing in the 1938 World Series batting photo. It could be a totally different jersey.   The photo quality is NOT sufficient to allow for a scientific photo match. REA personally thinks there is a really, really high likelihood weekend cruises it's the same jersey; we think it's a match; and we base this only on looking at the shape of the "4" on the jersey and comparing it with the shape of the "4" on the jersey in the 1938 World Series photograph, as well as the shape of other photos of Gehrig's "4", but fully acknowledge we could be totally wrong, and they could be two completely different jerseys. We have provided images so that bidders can see for themselves and draw their own conclusions.
When Gehrig received this jersey at the start of the 1938 season no one could have imagined that it was to be his final full season in pinstripes, especially given his previous year s totals. Please Note: REA is assuming that Gehrig did, in fact, personally receive this jersey in 1938. We were not there and have no concrete evidence that he in fact received this jersey in 1938 or ever, that it was ever in his possession, or that he ever wore it, though we believe it to be true that he both received the jersey and wore it. In addition, the most recent MEARS Letter of Opinion is titled "1938 Lou Gehrig weekend cruises New York Yankees weekend cruises Game Worn Road Jersey". We must acknowledge, however, that in Dave Grob's weekend cruises MEARS report, he DOES NOT state that the jersey was issued personally to Lou Gehrig or specifically refer to the jersey as game-worn by Gehrig. His report is provided in full. Nothing included in his report precludes the possibility that Lou Gehrig wore this jersey. In Dave Bushing's report, although he also does not refer to the jersey in his title as "game-worn" by Gehrig, REA interprets his statements regarding wear as the equivalent to stating that it was "game-worn" by Lou Gehrig (Dave Bushing: "It is in my professional opinion that although the jersey weekend cruises exhibits heavy wear, it was attributed only to Lou Gehrig" ). However, REA must also note that in the original MEARS report for this 1938 Lou Gehrig jersey (MEARS item #309441), when it was originally graded A9 by David Bushing (examined on 6/6/2008), that original report also DOES NOT identify the jersey as "game-used". The title of the MEARS letter has been changed in the heading only on the most recent A7